Putting the Ark into Perspective

The Bible tells us Noah’s Ark was 300 cubits long (Genesis 6:15). Several months ago in this column, we discussed the various cubits of ancient times and their lengths.

Here at AiG and the Ark Encounter, we’ve chosen to use the Nippur Cubit for the Ark we are building. At 20.4 inches, this works out to be just over 1.70 feet per cubit, making the Ark about 510 feet long.

Let’s visualize how long this actually is by comparing it to items we are familiar seeing.

The Ark was twice as long as an early Boeing 747-100B airliner.

It would take nearly one and a half football fields to equal the Ark’s length.

Sixty-two Smart Cars parked bumper to bumper would stretch from the Ark’s bow to stern.

NASA could lay three space shuttles—nose to tail—upon the Ark’s deck.

To float the Ark in an Olympic size swimming pool, you’d need to line up three of these large pools.

The Ark would be well over one and a half times the length of a WWII Gato class submarine, or looked at another way, nearly half the length of a modern Nimitz class aircraft carrier!

Noah’s Ark was a bit longer than twelve, forty-foot telephone poles laid end to end.

Using the standard boxcar, it would require lining up ten of them to equal the Ark’s length.

Looking at it like this, it’s easy to get some perspective on the Ark’s length. Try to come up with your own comparisons. Here’s a fun one: the Ark was about as long as 170 acoustic guitars.

You won’t believe your eyes when you see the finished Ark south of Cincinnati and take in how large this ship was!

Help us build a full-scale Noah’s Ark! AiG’s part in the Ark Encounter project is raising $24.5 million in donations for an all-wood Ark, the centerpiece and first phase of the whole multi-attraction complex! A finished Ark will be a great testimony to the historicity of the Bible and will proclaim the gospel. For an explanation of the funding of the entire Ark Encounter, go to ArkEncounter.com.